On that night, while Dara was studying, she received a video call from her father.
Dara's father, a serviceman often deployed out of town, would alleviate his longing for his family by calling or video chatting with his daughter and wife.
Dara promptly answered her father's video call.
"What are you doing, sweetheart?"
"I'm studying, Dad," Dara replied while looking at her phone's screen, showing her father sitting in a room.
"Right, I called your mom earlier, and she said that there was a student who committed suicide at your school."
"Yes, Dad, his name was Kevin, a classmate of mine."
"Poor kid, how's school been for you? Have you made friends?"
"Yes, Dad, all my friends are nice."
"Are you studying in a group right now?"
"No, Dad, I'm alone in my room."
"Really? But there's someone behind you in a school uniform—tell your friend to go home, change, and ask for permission from their parents."
"Dad, I'm alone in my room," Dara protested, turning to look behind her but seeing no one there.
"Oh, Dara, your dad wouldn't lie; let me take a photo and send it to you. Alright, darling, it's getting late, you better rest."
"Okay, Dad, take care over there," Dara ended the video call with her father.
Shortly after, her phone rang, and it was her father sending a photo through the chat.
Eager to see the picture her father sent, Dara opened it and gasped upon seeing the ghostly figure of Julia standing behind her, pale-faced.
Immediately, Dara grabbed her phone to call Mia.
"Hello, Mia, there's something important I need to tell you."
"What is it, Dara? You sound very serious."
"Hang on, I'm sending a photo to you – check it!"
"Okay, wait, don't hang up," Mia said on the phone as she opened the photo sent by Dara.
"Astagfirullah, Dara, why would you send this picture in the middle of the night? Behind you is Julia's ghost, I don't want to talk about this at night, understand," Mia said on the phone, sounding annoyed.
"I'm not trying to scare you, Mia, but my dad saw Julia behind me on the video call, and then he took the photo," Dara explained over the phone.
"Enough, let's talk about it in the daytime; I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep," Mia said, hanging up her phone.
"Mia, Mia wait."
Click... Click...
The call disconnected.
Frightened, Mia quickly turned off her phone without listening to Dara's explanation about the photo of Julia standing behind her.
The night grew deeper, occasionally showing Dara yawning and fighting off sleep.
"Maybe I should just go to bed," murmured Dara, moving from her study desk to her bed.
She began to lie down on her soft mattress, her eyes heavy with sleep.
Before long, Dara fell asleep and dreamt again, this time of an event at the school.
In the dream, Dara, at the school, watched a man from behind running in fear.
Curious, she followed him up the stairs to the school's upper balcony.
Struggling to open the balcony door, which felt locked, Dara banged and forced it until she got it open, only to witness the horrifying scene of the man falling from the balcony.
Rushing to the balcony, she saw the man lying there, then spotted Julia's ghost in the corner, smiling enigmatically.
Dara suddenly woke up to see it was 2:00 AM on her room clock.
"Another strange dream? What could it mean? And it's odd, why can't I see their faces in my dreams," Dara mused to herself.
Deciding not to dwell on these thoughts, Dara chose to go back to sleep.
Hours later, her alarm clock rang, and waking up, Dara promptly went to the bathroom. Minutes later, after showering, she donned her school uniform and left the room to enjoy breakfast prepared by her mother.
During breakfast, Dara chatted casually with her mom.
"Mom, there was a similar incident at my school before I transferred. A student named Julia committed suicide in the changing room, by cutting her wrists," Dara told her mother.
"Astagfirullah, why would that student do such a thing?" her mother inquired.
"I don't know, but my friends say she was a high-performing student at school, and it hasn't been a month since it happened," Dara recounted to her mother.
"Poor child, let's not talk about it anymore, spare her the thought," her mother softly chided.
They shifted the conversation until it was 7:00 AM.
Dara hurriedly prepared to leave for school, bidding farewell to her mother.
"I'm off to school, Mom," Dara said, kissing both of her mother's cheeks and the back of her hand.
Her mother saw her to the front door, advising, "Be careful, Dara, and stay focused at school."
"Will do, Mom," Dara replied, walking out to school.
Arriving at class, Dara recounted her dream to her friends, Toni and Mia.
"Mia, Toni, come here," Dara called out.
Responding to her call, they quickly approached.
"What's up, Dara?" Mia asked.
"I had another weird dream?" Dara said.
"What was the dream about?" Toni inquired.
"I dreamt something bad will happen at this school," Dara confessed.
"Really? What kind of dream did you have?" asked Toni, clearly intrigued.
"I dreamt a man was running scared here at school and he was on the balcony. What's even scarier is that he fell off the balcony," Dara shared with her friends about her last night's dream.
"That sounds terrifying; we have to prevent it, Dara. Do you know who the man in your dream was?" asked Toni.
"No, I only saw him from the back; I couldn't see his face," Dara replied.
"So, how do we find out more about your dream?" Mia asked.
"I don't know, I'm confused too, but I'm sure it has something to do with Julia. In my dream, I saw Julia's ghost smiling mysteriously when the man fell from the balcony," Dara continued explaining to her friends.
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